Clemson’s men’s basketball team took its offensive surge on the road Saturday, picking up an important win in the process.

The Tigers blew past NC State for a 96-71 win at PNC Arena. Brevin Galloway poured in a career-high 28 points while PJ Hall added 20 for Clemson, which shot a blistering 59% from the field to pull off its largest margin of victory in a true road game this season.

It’s also Clemson’s sixth straight victory in the series dating back to 2021, and the implications of this one could loom large come next month. The Tigers’ first road victory since Jan. 28 doubled as their fourth Quad 1 win of the season, giving Clemson (21-8, 13-5 ACC) the first real boost to its NCAA Tournament resume since beating Duke at home back on Jan. 14.

It was also much needed following the Tigers’ perplexing setback to last-place Louisville a week earlier. Clemson, which stayed in sole possession of fourth place in the ACC standings with the win, now has a chance to double up on Quad 1 opportunities with a trip to No. 6 Virginia looming Tuesday.

“We’re on the bubble obviously, so this was a big win for us,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said.

Galloway, who bested his previous career-high of 27 points set in December 2020 while playing for the College of Charleston, sank four of the Tigers’ 10 3-pointers, their second straight game with double-digit makes from deep. Chase Hunter scored 15 points while Hunter Tyson chipped in his 14th double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 boards.

Clemson also shot 18 of 22 from the free-throw line and outrebounded NC State (22-8, 12-7) by six.

Three days after lighting up Syracuse for 91 points in an 18-point home victory, Clemson scored the most points it has in a half all season to take a 54-29 halftime lead on the Wolfpack, who’d won all but one of its 16 home games before Saturday.

Galloway and Hall spearheaded the Tigers’ fast start. Galloway had a season-high before the first half was over with 20 points, connecting on five of his first six shots and four of his first five 3s. Hall scored from a little bit of everywhere in adding 16 first-half points, knocking down a pair of Clemson’s eight first-half 3s and making seven of his first nine shots from the field.

“I do think when we’re playing well and we’re clicking, we’re a lot to handle,” Brownell said. “Our guys have played some really good basketball. This was great because this was a big-time road win. Maybe it’s our third Quad 1 road win, and I think that speaks to being able to play away from home.”

Meanwhile, the Tigers were able to keep NC State’s potent backcourt tandem in check early. The Wolfpack’s leading scorers, guards Jarkel Joiner and Terquavion Smith, had just 13 points on a combined 5 of 17 shooting in the first 20 minutes.

Senior big D.J. Burns Jr. led NC State in scoring with 24 points as Joiner and Smith combined for 26. They were averaging a combined 34.9 coming in.

“Some of it was because we scored and we were able to get our defense set,” Brownell said. “And I’m sure they missed some shots that they normally make. That happens, too, and you press a little bit because you’re down. But our guys competed. I thought our guys really fought. We did some good things in ball-screen coverage.

“Our guys played exceptionally well today, and State had a tough night.”